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403 words
Previous: Back In The Saddle Again
Extra for WHA RODEO IN THE ROCKIES 2023

After cooling Dusty off after their mounted shooting class, Michael had groomed him and turned him out for the rest of the day, letting him have the rest of the rodeo off. He had loped around the paddock before rolling vigorously, making Lizzie laugh before they wandered off to watch the rest of the events.
After the last class Michael came back over to check on the horse before heading to their room for the night. Dusty nickered and walked up to him as he entered the paddock. He ran his hands over the horse, checking for any sign of injury. Michael's face fell as he ran his hands over the horse's stifle. It had heat, and Dusty seemed a bit sore. Michael called Emmy over, asking her to watch closely as he put the stallion through some paces, checking for lameness. He was not limping, but they still wanted to be certain. They called the vet watching over the show, and some radiographs were taken.
His stifle still looked good, there were no major injuries. However, he did have some inflammation in the area and he had some arthritis acting up. The vet gave him some bute to help make him more comfortable for the night. He didn't believe that it was anything more than his body getting used to competing again, and thought he just needed some more strengthening, and perhaps some medications to help him deal with the wear and tear.
Once the vet left, Michael sighed, leaning on the fence as he and Emmy watched Dusty graze.
"When do I call it, Emmy?" asked Michael. "I love him, I don't want to push him or see him in pain. I don't want him getting hurt again. But he was so happy to get out there again today, and I don't want to do it too soon."
"That can be a hard one," she said. "He was happy, and he still wants to do all the things with you. But I think it's better to do it one month too early than to do it one day too late. Maybe you can switch him to a less intense discipline. No more speed events, and if that works for him, then great."
"I'll try him once, once he heals. And if he's still having issues when we try that, I'm going to retire him."
"I think that's a good idea, honey."

A/N: I'm finally going through and aging up my horses more realistically. Dusty was the first HARPG horse I made for myself, so I definitely have some feelings about him getting retired pretty soon. There's several horses that are going to be entering the ends of their careers soon as well, but it's to hopefully make more space for the younger stock and other horses I have to get their limelight.

Refs:
Bay Horse Portrait Stock
Turn around #001 (pose reference)

Description
403 words
Previous: Back In The Saddle Again
Extra for WHA RODEO IN THE ROCKIES 2023

After cooling Dusty off after their mounted shooting class, Michael had groomed him and turned him out for the rest of the day, letting him have the rest of the rodeo off. He had loped around the paddock before rolling vigorously, making Lizzie laugh before they wandered off to watch the rest of the events.
After the last class Michael came back over to check on the horse before heading to their room for the night. Dusty nickered and walked up to him as he entered the paddock. He ran his hands over the horse, checking for any sign of injury. Michael's face fell as he ran his hands over the horse's stifle. It had heat, and Dusty seemed a bit sore. Michael called Emmy over, asking her to watch closely as he put the stallion through some paces, checking for lameness. He was not limping, but they still wanted to be certain. They called the vet watching over the show, and some radiographs were taken.
His stifle still looked good, there were no major injuries. However, he did have some inflammation in the area and he had some arthritis acting up. The vet gave him some bute to help make him more comfortable for the night. He didn't believe that it was anything more than his body getting used to competing again, and thought he just needed some more strengthening, and perhaps some medications to help him deal with the wear and tear.
Once the vet left, Michael sighed, leaning on the fence as he and Emmy watched Dusty graze.
"When do I call it, Emmy?" asked Michael. "I love him, I don't want to push him or see him in pain. I don't want him getting hurt again. But he was so happy to get out there again today, and I don't want to do it too soon."
"That can be a hard one," she said. "He was happy, and he still wants to do all the things with you. But I think it's better to do it one month too early than to do it one day too late. Maybe you can switch him to a less intense discipline. No more speed events, and if that works for him, then great."
"I'll try him once, once he heals. And if he's still having issues when we try that, I'm going to retire him."
"I think that's a good idea, honey."

A/N: I'm finally going through and aging up my horses more realistically. Dusty was the first HARPG horse I made for myself, so I definitely have some feelings about him getting retired pretty soon. There's several horses that are going to be entering the ends of their careers soon as well, but it's to hopefully make more space for the younger stock and other horses I have to get their limelight.

Refs:
Bay Horse Portrait Stock
Turn around #001 (pose reference)